Swim fan

Everyone think back to your childhood for a second. What key memories do you have? You no doubt have many, but I’d like to bring your attention to how you played. Play, being a big part of how we develop into who we are right now.
I recently went swimming at a friend’s house for about an hour which consisted of various speed/form workouts. When I was finished I began to remember when I was younger (probably getting delirious from exertion). One of the things I remember about my childhood was swimming. Not that I’m a particularly good swimmer but the fact that it was one of my trainings in play. I remember going to the Holtsville pool on long island and being able to swim to the other side which amazed my swimming teacher so much he put me in a higher level. I also remember how drained I was wishing there was a shark in there to end my misery (hence the photo, even though it’s a dolphin or something cause the fin and tail don’t match that of a shark…still a very cool photo). More memorable was all the times I went to my aunts house with my parents and didn’t necessarily swim laps but rather just jumped around and stayed in the pool till my hands turned into a prune.
Well, after my recent swim workout I got that same youthful, play feeling. I was no longer training or working out, I was playing. Another time a couple of my friends and I were at a beach and someone came up with the idea to swim out to the buoy and back. From shore the buoy did not look that far away and there was three of us, so I promptly accepted the challenge knowing that if I was to drown at least someone would know. This reminds me of a quote, “Warning, objects in mirror are closer than they appear.” Yes we were deceptively fooled (as you can be with a mirror) as to the distance of this buoy. When we finally reached this seemingly moving floatation device we all held on to it and rested for a while before heading back to the safety of shore. I remember getting back to shore and being completely spent. Surprisingly, that was a lot of fun.
I’m glad I remembered how much fun this sport can be. Though I’m not particularly fond of open ocean water swimming is still a blast. I was surfing one time when a couple of fins decided to surface, that really freaked me out. I still manage to surf at least once a year. As for regular swimming I’ll just stick to lakes and pools as much as possible. Now all I need to do is actually learn how to swim well enough to not make it look like I‘m drowning.

--Jumping into cold water--
-Barton-